How to start couponing & saving money (if you don’t)

You’ve heard about all of those people that save tons of money. They make these posts off all this stuff they get really cheap or free. You think you should do that but it is too hard.

You do have to put a little effort in. But that is true with anything. The more you put in, the more benefits you receive!

1. GET ORGANIZED

Find a way to organize your coupons. There are two main ways you can do this. Binder or accordion file. With the binder you just get some baseball card inserts. I also have some tab dividers. Group your coupons together by personal products, household products, baby item, food, etc. This method is a little more time consuming so you have to consider if you realistically have time to clip & organize your coupons each week.

The other method of organizing your coupons is the accordion file method. With this you just leave your coupon inserts intact. Organize the entire insert by type (Red Plum, Smart Source, P&G) and date. I write the date on the front with a black sharpee. If you have several inserts sitting around, you can find the date printed on the spine of the insert. Just put each week in a different slot. When the coupons are expired, throw out the entire insert. You may miss some deals with this method but if time is an issue, it’s a good method to use. I have switched over to this method as the other was too overwhelming for me.

2. APPS TO DOWNLOAD

If you don’t have a smart phone, you can skip this step. It’s just an extra way to make some easy cash. You can use coupons in the store and then submit for rebates, making many products moneymakers.

Ibotta: This one is my favorite and I definitely get the most money back with it. ($200 since April). If you are getting it for the first time use the referral code ovhwhro. You’ll get $10 & I will get $5 after you submit your first rebate. Once you reach $20 you can cash out. It will pay out through PayPal or a variety of gift cards.

Checkout 51: This one doesn’t earn me as much but it all adds up. I just don’t use as many of the brands on here. I’m at $16 Since April and you can cash out at $20.

Mobisave: Less savings but still something They have a lot of any brand rebates where you can get $0.10 back for any brand cereal, bananas, pasta, fruit, etc. It links right to your PayPal acct and deposits the money as soon as it is approved. I’ve earned $3.25 since April.

Shop kick: You open the app before you go in the store. It will show you a list of items. You get points for finding and scanning the bar code. I do this when I have time. You can get a $5 gift card to many places for as few as 1250 points. You get 10-25 points for each scan and often 15 points for walking in the door. Your bluetooth will have to be on. I am almost at $20 earned since May and I only use this about 25% of my trips. My referral link is: https://app.shopkick.com/r/8nO8Y This will give me 250 extra points after your first scan.

3. WHERE TO GET THE COUPONS

Coupons are important. Many of them come in the Sunday paper. If you are lucky enough to live somewhere that gives you a free paper with the inserts, you are all set. Those papers usually don’t have all of the coupons, but it’s a good amount. If you are going to go the Sunday paper route, I would suggest getting the one that comes out Saturday evening. It is a little cheaper and still has the coupons. Or, sign up for Sunday only home delivery of your local paper. It will be cheaper than buying it every week.

The other place is online at coupons.com. I find many coupons there. You can print two of them from your computer and they usually have a later expiration date than the paper coupons. New coupons are typically added at the beginning of the month.

4. STORE CARDS

You’ll have to see what works best for you but here are some I use:

CVS: New coupons are added on Sunday’s. These are usually related to your prior purchases. You can see these in the app or on the CVS website. There is a coupon center in the store to get extra coupons or see what coupons are on your card. Typically on Thursdays you will get an email for 20-30% off or $5/15, $10/30 coupon. They have to be sent to your card or printed by Sunday & are good for 3 days after printing or sending to your card. Receive Extrabucks at the register on the bottom of your receipt. They are good for 30 days.

Walgreens: They have store and manufacture coupons on their card so you don’t have to worry about getting the newspaper. You just have to click on them. Can get reward points and register rewards. Register rewards print out and are only good for a week.

Kroger: All of the manufacture coupons are on the app. They always have a free coupon Friday. Just search free on a Friday and you can add the coupon to your card for the free item. The coupons are separated by category making it easy to look for a coupon while shopping. This is good if you don’t have your coupons with you and you find something on sale.

Target: download the target cartwheel app. There are lots of %off savings on items you probably already buy.

5. HOW TO FIND THE DEALS

Make it easy on yourself. There are a couple of websites that do all the breakdowns for you. They tell you exactly where to find the coupons (which insert & which date) My favorite is Krazy Coupon Lady. She has a website that you can go to and search by store. If you sign up for her mailing list you will get any deals that are found throughout the week. This makes is simple, especially if you are just starting out. Let someone else do the work. It gives you the complete breakdown. You just have to grab those coupons, and head to the store to start saving. I have a small notebook that I picked up & it has a pocket in the front. I write the deals for each store on a page and put the coupons in the pocket.

Don’t think that you don’t have time. Save yourself some money. If you use the accordion file system & get the savings emails sent to you, the time commitment is very small and the savings can be huge.

Think you don’t need that much? If you are getting toothpaste and shampoo for free, consider donating to a women’s shelter or food pantry.

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Published by reviewerpam

Single mom of 2 busy boys. A teenager that is involved in soccer, wrestling, & track. And a special needs child that functions as a toddler. I also care for my grandfather who is in his 90's. I
live my life to serve Jesus the best I can. Run a local food pantry which is a blessing to both them & myself. I love to serve others in any way I can.
View all posts by reviewerpam

One thing I do is I like to send emails out to brands and,request coupons sent to me. I’ve gotten a lot of good feedback and even gotten quite a few samples and full sized products this way. It can never hurt to just ask 🙂

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